dental school vs medical school?

I am a pre-med student entering 5th year and will be done within two quarters. Currently, I am preparing for MCAT in septempber but I am in a dillema right now because I'm having second thoughts on if I should really do medicine or change a path to dental school. I was wondering if people in the field can give me honest opinions on pros/cons of each field. I am actually burn out studying so much in college and was wondering if I can withstand the amount of work/study medical school+residency will give (7-8 years) vs dental school (4 years to become general dentist). I know that both school do require hard work emotionally, physically, mentally, but I heard that the average dentist lifestyle is more flexible than the average medical doctor, so i am more leaning toward dentistry. Honest opinions?

Dentist:+Less training+Better lifestyle+Better money -on average- than a FP+Less stress-Less research opportunities-Lower pay ceilling (some NSG make $750k+ right away)-Difficult to start a private practice: could put you in a lot of debt and requires entrepreneurship-Lower satisfaction on average-Less opportunities for specialisations and work environments-Very small diversity of cases-You have to pay to specialize.

Overall, dentistry is a better financial gig imo. But take the path that'll feed your soul, not only your bank account (whatever that path is).

Have you at least shadowed a physician and a dentist? That should give you an idea.

When I was a University Asst. Registrar I advised pre-med students. Our campus had both a Medical School and a College of Nursing, but no dental school. Although I helped students find dentistry schools when that was their career goal.

I was astonished to learn that GPA entrance standards for dentistry were at some schools higher than those for either medicine or nursing. It's driven by available openings and numbers of applicants. The more the demand, the more the competition. It's not that dentists need to be smarter, it's merely supply-side economics.

An advisor at your current school can tell you what the admission standards are for different programs and schools, and what you must achieve in order to be competitive, in addition to an MCAT score. You need to know this NOW, if you don't already, to make sure you actually have choices, and are not wasting your time.

I was able to tell our undergraduate students the annual stats on medical, nursing & dentistry school acceptance histories, and so should your own advisors. "Last year this Medical School accepted no one below a 3.3 GPA, this other one is running at a 3.4 GPA. If you don't have that don't expect to be admitted, in addition to an outstanding MCAT."

Granted, some schools will have minority programs and other ways of slipping under the wire. But unless you know you'll qualify for one of those, expect to face the hard numbers. This may help shape your career decision, based on harsh realities.

Art_Deco saidWhen I was a University Asst. Registrar I advised pre-med students. Our campus had both a Medical School and a College of Nursing, but no dental school. Although I helped students find dentistry schools when that was their career goal.

I was astonished to learn that GPA entrance standards for dentistry were at some schools higher than those for either medicine or nursing. It's driven by available openings and numbers of applicants. The more the demand, the more the competition. It's not that dentists need to be smarter, it's merely supply-side economics.

An advisor at your current school can tell you what the admission standards are for different programs and schools, and what you must achieve in order to be competitive, in addition to an MCAT score. You need to know this NOW, if you don't already, to make sure you actually have choices, and are not wasting your time.

I was able to tell our undergraduate students the annual stats on medical, nursing & dentistry school acceptance histories, and so should your own advisors. "Last year this Medical School accepted no one below a 3.3 GPA, this other one is running at a 3.4 GPA. If you don't have that don't expect to be admitted, in addition to an outstanding MCAT."

Granted, some schools will have minority programs and other ways of slipping under the wire. But unless you know you'll qualify for one of those, expect to face the hard numbers. This may help shape your career decision, based on harsh realities.

Yeah i know there are some dental schools that have higher avg gpa than some med school but currently i have 3.8 so gpa is not issue to me its just that i really am not sure which path is more suitable to me..

yoosung saidYeah i know there are some dental schools that have higher avg gpa than some med school but currently i have 3.8 so gpa is not issue to me its just that i really am not sure which path is more suitable to me.

Good, therefore you have choice. But what is "suitable" to you is your own decision. No one here can give you that.

You've mentioned income and some other issues. I'm neither a physician nor a dentist, but I can't imagine income as a goal.

So what is it you want? You want money, or what? If you wanna run the numbers, I suppose dentistry will give you the quickest return, for the least investment. And the shorter schooling.

An MD will give you greater prestige, and possibly more income over your lifetime. And more if you specialize.

So what are your priorities? Money or a specific career? Sounds like you have no passion for healing, just for money. Maybe you should consider running for Congress. Or switching your studies to finance, and go to Wall Street. Lots of money you can plunder there, without any legal consequences.

yoosung saidYeah i know there are some dental schools that have higher avg gpa than some med school but currently i have 3.8 so gpa is not issue to me its just that i really am not sure which path is more suitable to me.

Good, therefore you have choice. But what is "suitable" to you is your own decision. No one here can give you that.

You've mentioned income and some other issues. I'm neither a physician nor a dentist, but I can't imagine income as a goal.

So what is it you want? You want money, or what? If you wanna run the numbers, I suppose dentistry will give you the quickest return, for the least investment. And the shorter schooling.

An MD will give you greater prestige, and possibly more income over your lifetime. And more if you specialize.

So what are your priorities? Money or a specific career? Sounds like you have no passion for healing, just for money. Maybe you should consider running for Congress. Or switching your studies to finance, and go to Wall Street. Lots of money you can plunder there, without any legal consequences.

He's actually right. I'm a medical student and I know it will be a heck of journey to finish, or even get into medical school. But i'm pretty sure that if you don't really love the profession, you're not going to excel at it. Do what you FEEL will make you the happiest without taking money in consideration. Your job should be that one which you could happily volunteer for. I'm not saying I completely love the profession, but the idea of spending the rest of my life saving lives is the one that keeps me going, not how much I'm going to make. As cheese as it sounds, do what's going to fulfill your heart, not your wallet. At the end of the journey, all the money you made is going to vanish before your eyes. You only live once, keep that in mind.